High-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) station and access point (AP) and method for signaling of channel resource allocations

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) station, access point (AP), and method for communication in a wireless network are generally described herein. In some embodiments, the HEW AP may transmit a resource allocation message to indicate an allocation of channel resources for uplink transmissions by one or more HEW stations. The channel resources may include multiple channels, each of which may include multiple sub-channels and an extra portion of channel resources. The resource allocation message may include multiple sub-channel allocation blocks to indicate an allocation for a particular HEW station. A length of the sub-channel allocation blocks may be based on various factors, such as a number of channels included in the channel resources and a sub-carrier bandwidth.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/669,101, filed Mar. 26, 2015, which claims priority under 35 USC119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/079,366 filedNov. 13, 2014, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/091,939 filed Dec. 15, 2014, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless networks. Some embodiments relate towireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks includingnetworks operating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family ofstandards, such as the IEEE 802.11ac standard or the IEEE 802.11ax studygroup (SG) (named DensiFi). Some embodiments relate to high-efficiency(HE) wireless or high-efficiency WLAN or Wi-Fi (HEW) communications.Some embodiments relate to multi-user (MU) multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communications and orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques. Some embodimentsrelate to resource allocation and signaling of such.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communications has been evolving toward ever increasing datarates (e.g., from IEEE 802.11a/g to IEEE 802.11n to IEEE 802.11ac). Inhigh-density deployment situations, overall system efficiency may becomemore important than higher data rates. For example, in high-densityhotspot and cellular offloading scenarios, many devices competing forthe wireless medium may have low to moderate data rate requirements(with respect to the very high data rates of IEEE 802.11ac). Arecently-formed study group for Wi-Fi evolution referred to as the IEEE802.11 High Efficiency WLAN (HEW) study group (SG) (i.e., IEEE 802.11ax)is addressing these high-density deployment scenarios.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a High Efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) network in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an HEW device in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of a method of channel resourceallocation signaling in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an HEW SIG-B signaling message inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a hierarchical allocation of indicatorsfor sub-channel allocation blocks in accordance with some embodiments;and

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of another method of channel resourceallocation signaling in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustratespecific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practicethem. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical,process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodimentsmay be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalentsof those claims.

FIG. 1 illustrates a High Efficiency (HE) Wi-Fi (HEW) network inaccordance with some embodiments. HEW network 100 may include a masterstation (STA) 102, a plurality of HEW stations 104 (HEW devices), and aplurality of legacy stations 106 (legacy devices). The master station102 may be arranged to communicate with the HEW stations 104 and thelegacy stations 106 in accordance with one or more of the IEEE 802.11standards. In accordance with some HEW embodiments, an access point mayoperate as the master station 102 and may be arranged to contend for awireless medium (e.g., during a contention period) to receive exclusivecontrol of the medium for an HEW control period (i.e., a transmissionopportunity (TXOP)). The master station 102 may, for example, transmit amaster-sync or control transmission at the beginning of the HEW controlperiod to indicate, among other things, which HEW stations 104 arescheduled for communication during the HEW control period. During theHEW control period, the scheduled HEW stations 104 may communicate withthe master station 102 in accordance with a non-contention basedmultiple access technique. This is unlike conventional Wi-Ficommunications in which devices communicate in accordance with acontention-based communication technique, rather than a non-contentionbased multiple access technique. During the HEW control period, themaster station 102 may communicate with HEW stations 104 using one ormore HEW frames. During the HEW control period, legacy stations 106 mayrefrain from communicating. In some embodiments, the master-synctransmission may be referred to as a control and schedule transmission.

In some embodiments, the HEW AP 102 may transmit, to one or more HEWstations 104, a resource allocation message that indicates an allocationof channel resources for uplink transmissions by the HEW stations 104.The HEW stations 104 may perform uplink transmissions to the HEW AP 102according to the allocation. These embodiments will be described in moredetail below.

In some embodiments, the multiple-access technique used during the HEWcontrol period may be a scheduled orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) technique, although this is not a requirement. In someembodiments, the multiple access technique may be a time-divisionmultiple access (TDMA) technique or a frequency division multiple access(FDMA) technique. In some embodiments, the multiple access technique maybe a space-division multiple access (SDMA) technique including amulti-user (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) (MU-MIMO)technique. These multiple-access techniques used during the HEW controlperiod may be configured for uplink or downlink data communications.

The master station 102 may also communicate with legacy stations 106 inaccordance with legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques. In someembodiments, the master station 102 may also be configurable communicatewith the HEW stations 104 outside the HEW control period in accordancewith legacy IEEE 802.11 communication techniques, although this is not arequirement.

In some embodiments, the HEW communications during the control periodmay be configurable to use one of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz contiguousbandwidths or an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth. In someembodiments, a 320 MHz channel width may be used. In some embodiments,subchannel bandwidths less than 20 MHz may also be used. In theseembodiments, each channel or subchannel of an HEW communication may beconfigured for transmitting a number of spatial streams.

In accordance with embodiments, a master station 102 and/or HEW stations104 may generate an HEW packet in accordance with a short preambleformat or a long preamble format. The HEW packet may comprise a legacysignal field (L-SIG) followed by one or more high-efficiency (HE) signalfields (HE-SIG) and an HE long-training field (HE-LTF). For the shortpreamble format, the fields may be configured for shorter-delay spreadchannels. For the long preamble format, the fields may be configured forlonger-delay spread channels. These embodiments are described in moredetail below. It should be noted that the terms “HEW” and “HE” may beused interchangeably and both terms may refer to high-efficiency Wi-Fioperation.

FIG. 2 illustrates an HEW device in accordance with some embodiments.HEW device 200 may be an HEW compliant device that may be arranged tocommunicate with one or more other HEW devices, such as HEW stationsand/or a master station, as well as communicate with legacy devices. HEWdevice 200 may be suitable for operating as master station or an HEWstation. In accordance with embodiments, HEW device 200 may include,among other things, physical layer (PHY) circuitry 202 and medium-accesscontrol layer circuitry (MAC) 204. PHY 202 and MAC 204 may be HEWcompliant layers and may also be compliant with one or more legacy IEEE802.11 standards. PHY 202 may be arranged to transmit HEW frames. HEWdevice 200 may also include other processing circuitry 206 and memory208 configured to perform the various operations described herein.

In accordance with some embodiments, the MAC 204 may be arranged tocontend for a wireless medium during a contention period to receivecontrol of the medium for the HEW control period and configure an HEWframe. The PHY 202 may be arranged to transmit the HEW frame asdiscussed above. The PHY 202 may also be arranged to receive an HEWframe from HEW stations. MAC 204 may also be arranged to performtransmitting and receiving operations through the PHY 202. The PHY 202may include circuitry for modulation/demodulation, upconversion and/ordownconversion, filtering, amplification, etc. In some embodiments, theprocessing circuitry 206 may include one or more processors. In someembodiments, two or more antennas may be coupled to the physical layercircuitry arranged for sending and receiving signals includingtransmission of the HEW frame. The memory 208 may store information forconfiguring the processing circuitry 206 to perform operations forconfiguring and transmitting HEW frames and performing the variousoperations described herein.

In some embodiments, the HEW device 200 may be configured to communicateusing OFDM communication signals over a multicarrier communicationchannel. In some embodiments, HEW device 200 may be configured toreceive signals in accordance with specific communication standards,such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)standards including IEEE 802.11—2012, 802.11n—2009 and/or 802.11ac—2013standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANs including proposedHEW standards, although the scope of the invention is not limited inthis respect as they may also be suitable to transmit and/or receivecommunications in accordance with other techniques and standards. Insome other embodiments, HEW device 200 may be configured to receivesignals that were transmitted using one or more other modulationtechniques such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct sequencecode division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequency hopping codedivision multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time-division multiplexing (TDM)modulation, and/or frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) modulation,although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, HEW device 200 may be part of a portable wirelesscommunication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), alaptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, aweb tablet, a wireless telephone or smartphone, a wireless headset, apager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, atelevision, a wearable device such as a medical device (e.g., a heartrate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that mayreceive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, HEWdevice 200 may include one or more of a keyboard, a display, anon-volatile memory port, multiple antennas, a graphics processor, anapplication processor, speakers, and other mobile device elements. Thedisplay may be an LCD screen including a touch screen.

The antennas 201 of HEW device 200 may comprise one or more directionalor omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas,monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas orother types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In somemultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas 201 maybe effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and thedifferent channel characteristics that may result between each ofantennas and the antennas of a transmitting station.

Although HEW device 200 is illustrated as having several separatefunctional elements, one or more of the functional elements may becombined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configuredelements, such as processing elements including digital signalprocessors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, someelements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) andcombinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing atleast the functions described herein. In some embodiments, thefunctional elements of HEW device 200 may refer to one or more processesoperating on one or more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware,firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented asinstructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may beread and executed by at least one processor to perform the operationsdescribed herein. A computer-readable storage device may include anynon-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by amachine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storagedevice may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM),magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memorydevices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments mayinclude one or more processors and may be configured with instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage device.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide two preamble formats for HighEfficiency (HE) Wireless LAN standards specification that is underdevelopment in the IEEE Task Group 11ax (TGax).

In accordance with embodiments, the HEW AP 102 may transmit a resourceallocation message to indicate an allocation of channel resources foruplink transmissions by one or more HEW stations 104. The channelresources may include multiple channels, each of which may includemultiple sub-channels and an extra portion of channel resources. Theresource allocation message may include multiple sub-channel allocationblocks to indicate an allocation for a particular HEW station 104. Alength of the sub-channel allocation blocks may be based on variousfactors, such as a number of channels included in the channel resourcesand a sub-carrier bandwidth. These embodiments will be described in moredetail below.

In some embodiments, the channel resources may be used for downlinktransmission by the HEW AP 102 and for uplink transmissions by the HEWstations 104. That is, a time-division duplex (TDD) format may be used.In some cases, the channel resources may include multiple channels, suchas the 20 MHz channels previously described. The channels may includemultiple sub-channels or may be divided into multiple sub-channels forthe uplink transmissions to accommodate multiple access for multiple HEWstations 104. The downlink transmissions may or may not utilize the sameformat.

In some embodiments, the downlink sub-channels may comprise apredetermined bandwidth. As an example, the sub-channels may each span2.03125 MHz, the channel may span 20 MHz, and the channel may includeeight or nine sub-channels. As another example, the sub-channels mayeach span 2.5 MHz, the channel may span 20 MHz, and the channel mayinclude eight sub-channels. These examples are not limiting, however,and any suitable frequency span for the sub-channels may be used. Itshould be noted that reference may be made to a sub-channel of 2.03125MHz for illustrative purposes. Such references are not limiting,however, as a 2.0 MHz sub-channel, a 2.5 MHz sub-channel or asub-channel of another size may also be used in some cases. In someembodiments, the frequency span for the sub-channel may be based on avalue included in an 802.11 standard (such as 802.11ax), a 3GPP standardor other standard.

In some embodiments, the sub-channels may comprise multiplesub-carriers. Although not limited as such, the sub-carriers may be usedfor transmission and/or reception of OFDM or OFDMA signals. As anexample, each sub-channel may include a group of contiguous sub-carriersspaced apart by a pre-determined sub-carrier spacing. As anotherexample, each sub-channel may include a group of non-contiguoussub-carriers. That is, the channel may be divided into a set ofcontiguous sub-carriers spaced apart by the pre-determined sub-carrierspacing, and each sub-channel may include a distributed or interleavedsubset of those sub-carriers. The sub-carrier spacing may take a valuesuch as 78.125 kHz, 312.5 kHz or 15 kHz, although these example valuesare not limiting. Other suitable values that may or may not be part ofan 802.11 or 3GPP standard or other standard may also be used in somecases.

It should be noted that for a 78.125 kHz sub-carrier spacing, a group of26 contiguous sub-carriers may comprise a bandwidth of 2.03125 MHz.Accordingly, an allocation of a sub-channel of this size may also bereferred to as a “26 tones” allocation or similar. In addition, 26sub-carriers may be selected from a non-contiguous set of sub-carriersto form a distributed or interleaved sub-channel, as described above. Inthis case, the sub-channel may still be referred to as a “26 tones”sub-channel or as a 2.013125 MHz channel or similar, although acontiguous bandwidth may not necessarily be spanned.

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of a method of channel resourceallocation signaling in accordance with some embodiments. It isimportant to note that embodiments of the method 300 may includeadditional or even fewer operations or processes in comparison to whatis illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, embodiments of the method 300 arenot necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in FIG.3. In describing the method 300, reference may be made to FIGS. 1-2 and4-6, although it is understood that the method 300 may be practiced withany other suitable systems, interfaces and components.

In addition, while the method 300 and other methods described herein mayrefer to HEW stations 104 and HEW APs 102 operating in accordance with802.11 or other standards, embodiments of those methods are not limitedto just those HEW stations 104 or HEW APs 102 and may also be practicedon other mobile devices, such as a user station (STA), an Evolved Node-B(eNB) or User Equipment (UE). The method 300 and other methods describedherein may also be practiced by wireless devices configured to operatein other suitable types of wireless communication systems, includingsystems configured to operate according to various Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards.

At operation 305 of the method 300, one or more uplink bandwidth requestmessages may be received at the HEW AP 102. The messages may include oneor more station IDs or other identifiers associated with HEW stations104 requesting uplink data resources. The messages may also includeother related information, including a size of data to be transmitted, adesired data transmission rate or other information. It should be notedthat the reception of the messages may occur over any suitable timeinterval, and is not limited to reception during a same control period.That is, some of the messages may arrive at the HEW AP 102 duringdifferent control periods in some cases. As an example, the controlperiod may be a period associated with a random access procedure inwhich HEW stations 104 may transmit control messages, such as accessrequests, which may include the uplink bandwidth request messages.

At operation 310, the HEW AP 102 may allocate at least a portion ofchannel resources to one or more HEW stations for use in uplinktransmissions. The allocation may be based at least partly on the uplinkbandwidth request messages, in some cases. That is, bandwidth needs orrequirements or other information included in the bandwidth requestmessages may be considered by the HEW AP 102 during the allocationprocess. For instance, a size of a portion of the channel resourcesallocated to a particular HEW station 104 may be based on a valuespecified by that HEW station 104 in a bandwidth request. The allocationmay be performed for HEW stations 104 that have requested uplinktransmission resources in a current or previous time period, althoughthe scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect.

The channel resources may include one or more channels that may includeone or more sub-channels. In some embodiments, the number of channelsmay be selected from one, two, four or eight, and each channel maycomprise a bandwidth of 20 MHz. As an example, the channel resources maycomprise contiguous bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz, aspreviously described, and may be partitioned into one, two, or fourchannels of 20 MHz bandwidth. As another example, the channel resourcesmay comprise an 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) non-contiguous bandwidth, which maybe partitioned into eight channels of 20 MHz bandwidth. These examplesare not limiting, however, as other suitable values may be used for thebandwidth of the channel resources and/or the channels.

The channel resources may also include one or more extra portions ofchannel resources, which will be described below. In some embodiments,each of the channels may include an integer number of sub-channels andmay further include an extra portion of channel resources. In otherembodiments, different configurations may be used for some of thechannels in terms of whether or not the extra portion is included, anumber of sub-channels included or other factors. As a non-limitingexample, the extra portion may comprise a bandwidth of 2.03125 MHz,which may be 26 sub-carriers spaced apart by 78.125 MHz, as previouslydescribed. The extra portion, in this example, may be referred to as an“extra 26 tones allocation” or similar. The 26 sub-carriers may also beselected as a distributed or interleaved subset of a larger set ofcontiguous sub-carriers included in the channel, in some cases. In someembodiments, the extra portion may be located in a pre-defined positionwithin the channel, such as a center portion straddling the directcurrent (DC) sub-carrier or a position at the left edge or right edge ofthe channel.

Various allocations may be considered. As an example, an HEW station 104may be allocated one or more sub-channels in different channels, such asa first sub-channel that is included in a first channel and a secondsub-channel that is included in a second channel. As another example,the HEW station 104 may be allocated contiguous or non-contiguoussub-channels included in a particular channel. As another example, theHEW station 104 may be allocated one of the extra portions of channelresources. Although these examples may illustrate some possibleallocations that may be used, they are not limiting.

At operation 315, the HEW AP 102 may transmit a resource allocationmessage to indicate an allocation of channel resources for uplinktransmissions by one or more HEW stations 104. In some embodiments, theresource allocation message may be included in an HEW SIG-B signalingmessage. It should be noted that the resource allocation message is notlimited to transmission as part of the HEW SIG-B signaling message,however, and may also be transmitted as part of another type of messageor may be an individual or stand-alone message in some cases.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an HEW SIG-B signaling message inaccordance with some embodiments. It should be noted that embodimentsare not limited by the ordering, format or presentation of theparameters and information as shown in FIG. 4. In addition, someembodiments of the resource allocation message and/or the HEW SIG-Bsignaling message 400 may or may not include some or all of theparameters and information shown, and may also include additionalparameters and information not shown in FIG. 4. For ease ofillustration, the HEW SIG-B signaling message 400 shows allocations forjust two HEW stations 104, which are identified in the blocks 420 and430. It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to this number,as additional or fewer HEW stations 104 may be used.

In some embodiments, the resource allocation message may include aresource distribution indicator to indicate whether the HEW stations areallocated contiguous portions of the channel resources. The resourcedistribution indicator may indicate any suitable number of allocationtypes, including any or all of contiguous, non-contiguous, distributed,special tone, or other allocation type. Referring to the example HEWSIG-B signaling message 400 in FIG. 4, the allocation type 405 may be ormay be similar to the resource distribution indicator. As an example,the allocation type 405 may include two bits mapped to contiguous (00),distributed (01), special tone (10), and non-contiguous (11)allocations.

As an example, the resource distribution indicator may indicatecontiguous allocation of the channel resources. Accordingly, anallocation for each HEW station 104 may include a contiguous group ofsub-channels. For instance, when a channel includes eight sub-channelsindexed on 1-8 and an extra portion, a contiguous allocation mayallocate the first two sub-channels (#1 and #2) to a first HEW station104, the remaining six sub-channels (#3-#8) to a second HEW station 104,and the extra portion to a third HEW station 104.

As another example, the resource distribution indicator may indicatenon-contiguous allocation of the channel resources. Accordingly, anallocation for at least one of the HEW station 104 s may include anon-contiguous group of sub-channels. For instance, when a channelincludes eight sub-channels indexed on 1-8 and an extra portion, anon-contiguous allocation may allocate the sub-channels #1 and #3 to afirst HEW station 104, the sub-channels #2, #4, and #6 to a secondstation 104, and the remaining sub-channels (#5, #7, and #8) to a thirdHEW station 104, and the extra portion to a fourth HEW station 104.

It should be pointed out that in this example, the first HEW station 104is allocated sub-channels #1 and #3 and is not allocated sub-channel #2,which is located between sub-channels #1 and #3. In addition, thenon-contiguous group of sub-channels allocated to the first HEW station104 includes sub-channel #3, excludes the sub-channels #2 and #4 thatare adjacent to sub-channel #3, and includes another sub-channel (#1).In some embodiments, it may be possible for a non-contiguous group ofsub-channels to include sub-channels on at least two different channels.

As another example, the resource distribution indicator may indicatedistributed allocation of the channel resources. As part of such adistributed allocation, the sub-channels of a channel may includemultiple sub-carriers interleaved in frequency. That is, as previouslydescribed, the channel may include a set of sub-carriers and eachsub-channel may include a non-contiguous subset of the sub-carriers inthe channel. That is, the sub-carriers may be spread over the channelbandwidth, to some extent, which may provide possible frequencydiversity benefits. In addition, a higher transmit power per sub-carriermay be used in some cases.

In some embodiments, the resource allocation message may further includean extra portion indicator to indicate whether one or more extraportions of the channel resources are allocated to the HEW stations. Asan example, the extra portion indicator may include one bit to indicatepossible values such as yes/no or similar, but is not limited to just asingle bit. In some embodiments, a bandwidth of the extra portion ofchannel resources may be non-variable, such as the extra 26 tonesallocation described earlier. Referring to the example HEW SIG-Bsignaling message 400 in FIG. 4, the extra 26 tones allocation 410 maybe or may be similar to the extra portion indicator. An identifier ofthe HEW station 104 to which the extra 26 tones are allocated may beindicated by the “PAID/AID for extra 26 tones” indicator 415. In thisexample, the extra portion includes 26 tones, which may correspond tothe bandwidth of 2.03125 MHz as previously described. As an example,values of 0 and 1 for the extra 26 tones allocation 410 may indicatethat the extra 26 tones are not allocated or are allocated,respectively.

In some embodiments, the resource allocation message may further includeone or more sub-channel allocation blocks to indicate frequency locationinformation for one or more allocated sub-channels included in thechannel. An allocation of a portion of the channel resources to aparticular HEW station 104 may be indicated by an identifier of the HEWstation 104 and a sequence of one or more sub-channel allocation blocks,each of which may describe a sub-channel that is allocated to the HEWstation 104. As a non-limiting example, the identifier of the HEWstation 104 may be immediately followed by the sequence of sub-channelallocation blocks in the resource allocation message.

Referring to the example HEW SIG-B signaling message 400 in FIG. 4, thesub-channel allocation block 425 may describe a sub-channel allocated tothe HEW station 104 identified by the identifier 420 shown as PAID/AID#1. Accordingly, the block 425 immediately follows the identifier block420 within the message 400 in this example. In addition, the sub-channelallocation blocks 435, 445 may describe two sub-channels allocated tothe HEW station 104 identified by the identifier 430 shown as PAID/AID#2. As such, the blocks 435, 445 immediately follow the identifier block430 within the message 400 in this example. It should be noted that theblocks 435, 445 may be considered a sequence of one or more sub-channelallocation blocks, as previously described. The block 425 may also beconsidered a sequence of a single sub-channel allocation block.

In some embodiments, the sub-channel allocation blocks may include anindicator of whether the sub-channel allocation block is a final blockin the sequence. As an example, the indicator may include one bit toindicate possible values such as yes/no or similar, but is not limitedto just a single bit. Referring once again to FIG. 4, the finalallocation 426 is set to “YES” to indicate that the sub-channelallocation block 425 is the final block intended for the HEW station 104identified by block 420. The final allocation 436 is set to “NO” toindicate that the sub-channel allocation block 435 is not the finalblock in the sequence of blocks (435 and 445) intended for the HEWstation 104 identified by block 430. However, the final allocation 446is set to “YES” to indicate that the sub-channel allocation block 445 isthe final block of the sequence.

In some embodiments, the sub-channel allocation blocks may furtherinclude a channel indicator for an allocated sub-channel, which mayidentify which channel of the channel resources includes the allocatedsub-channel. Although not limited as such, a length of the channelindicator may depend on a number of channels included in the channelresources. In addition, a length of the sub-channel allocation blocks(which include the channel indicator) may also depend at least partly onthe number of channels used. Referring to the example HEW SIG-Bsignaling message 400 in FIG. 4, the channel index 427 may be or may besimilar to the channel indicator for the sub-channel allocated by block425.

As an example, when two channels of 20 MHz (or other bandwidth) areincluded, the channel indicator may include one bit, with “0”corresponding to the lower channel and “1” corresponding to the upperchannel. As another example, when four channels are included, thechannel indicator may include two bits, with the four channels mapped ina predetermined or known manner to the four possible (pair-wise) valuesof the two bits—00, 01, 10, and 11. In addition, when 8 or 16 channelsare used, the technique just described may be extended with a channelindicator that includes 3 or 4 bits. It should be noted that theseexamples are not limiting, and any suitable number of channels may beused along with a field of bits that is large enough to cover the numberof channels.

In some embodiments, the sub-channel allocation blocks may furtherinclude an indicator of a sub-channel bandwidth for sub-channels(including the allocated sub-channel) in the indicated channel. As anon-limiting example, a bandwidth for the sub-channels in the indicatedchannel may be selected from a group of candidate bandwidths thatincludes 2.03125, 4.0625, 8.125 and 16.25 MHz. In this case, theindicator of the sub-channel bandwidth may include two bits, and each ofthe four candidate values may be mapped in a predetermined or knownmanner to the four possible (pair-wise) values of the two bits—00, 01,10, and 11. As previously described, the sub-channel bandwidths may alsobe specified in terms of a number of sub-carriers used. That is, with a78.125 kHz spacing of sub-carriers included in the sub-channels, theprevious group of candidate bandwidths may correspond to 26, 52, 104,and 208 sub-carriers. It should be noted that embodiments are notlimited to these examples, as other values and/or a different number ofcandidate values may be used in some cases. Referring to the example HEWSIG-B signaling message 400 in FIG. 4, the sub-channel index 428 may beor may be similar to the indicator of the sub-channel bandwidth for thesub-channel allocated by block 425.

In some embodiments, the sub-channel allocation blocks may furtherinclude a sub-channel location indicator for a frequency location of theallocated sub-channel within the indicated channel. In some embodiments,a length of the sub-channel location indicator may depend on theindicated sub-channel bandwidth. That is, for a particular channelbandwidth, the number of sub-channels included in the channel depends onthe sub-channel bandwidth. For example, a 20 MHz channel may support 8sub-channels of 2.03125 MHz, 4 sub-channels of 4.0625 MHz, 2sub-channels of 8.125 MHz, and one sub-channel of 16.25 MHz.Accordingly, the number of bits required for these cases may be 3, 2, 1,and 0. As an example, when 8 sub-channels are included, the values of(000, 001, . . . , 111) for the bits may correspond to the 8sub-channels in a predetermined manner. Referring to the example HEWSIG-B signaling message 400 in FIG. 4, the sub-channel location 429 maybe or may be similar to the sub-channel location indicator for thesub-channel allocated by block 425.

It should be noted that a 20 MHz channel that utilizes the 78.125 kHzspacing may include an extra portion of 26 sub-carriers along with 208additional sub-carriers, for a total of 234 sub-carriers. The 208sub-carriers may be divided into 8 sub-channels of 26 sub-carriers each,4 sub-channels of 52 sub-carriers each, 2 sub-channels of 104sub-carriers each, or one sub-channel of 208 sub-carriers. Accordingly,many different allocations of these sub-carriers are possible, some ofwhich will be described below.

As an example, the 234 sub-carriers may be divided among two HEWstations 104 such that a first HEW station 104 is allocated 208sub-carriers and a second HEW station is allocated the extra 26sub-carriers. As another example, the 234 sub-carriers may be dividedamong three HEW stations 104 such that two of the HEW stations 104 areeach allocated 104 sub-carriers and a third HEW station is allocated theextra 26 sub-carriers. As another example, the 234 sub-carriers may bedivided among five HEW stations 104 such that four of the HEW stations104 are each allocated 52 sub-carriers and the other HEW station 104 isallocated the extra 26 sub-carriers. As another example, the 234sub-carriers may be divided among nine HEW stations 104 such that eightof the HEW stations 104 are each allocated 26 sub-carriers and the otherHEW station 104 is allocated the extra 26 sub-carriers. As anotherexample, a single HEW station 104 may be allocated all 234 sub-carriers.As another example, the channel may actually include 242 sub-carriers,which may be allocated to a single HEW station 104. These examples arenot meant to be exhaustive, but may illustrate possible configurations.In other cases, multiple HEW stations 104 may be allocated differentamounts of sub-carriers. For instance, two HEW stations 104 may beallocated 52 sub-carriers each, four HEW stations 104 may be allocated26 sub-carriers each, and another HEW station 104 may be allocated the26 extra sub-carriers.

Returning to the method 300, at operation 320, one or more uplinktransmissions from the HEW stations 104 may be received at the HEW AP102 according to the allocation of the channel resources. The uplinktransmissions may include data signals, control signals, other signals,or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transmission of theresource allocation message and the reception of the uplinktransmissions may be performed in the channel resources. In someembodiments, the HEW AP 102 may comprise one or more antennas configuredto transmit the resource allocation message and to receive the uplinkdata transmissions. In some embodiments, the uplink data transmissionsmay include one or more orthogonal frequency division multiple-access(OFDMA) signals. These embodiments are not limiting, however, as othersuitable formats may be used for the uplink data transmissions.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a hierarchical allocation of indicatorsfor sub-channel allocation blocks in accordance with some embodiments.The hierarchy 500 shown in FIG. 5 may illustrate concepts related toallocation of a sub-channel to an HEW station 104, but embodiments arenot limited to what is shown in FIG. 5. In the example in FIG. 5, a 20MHz channel is used. As a first level of the hierarchy 500, the channelindex 510 may indicate which channel of the channel resources includesthe allocated sub-channel. As shown, two bits are used to indicate fourchannels 511-514.

A second level of the hierarchy 520 includes a sub-channel index 520,which may indicate a sub-channel bandwidth. In this example, two bitsindicate one of the four possible sub-channel bandwidths 521-524, whichare 26, 52, 104, and 242/208 tones in this example. A third level of thehierarchy 520 includes a sub-channel location 530, which may indicate asub-channel location within the channel. It should be noted that thenumber of candidate locations may depend on the sub-channel bandwidthindicated at the second level. For instance, for the case 521 of 26tones, eight sub-channels 531 may be allocated, and three bits are used.For the case 522 of 52 tones, four sub-channels 532 may be allocated,and two bits are used. For the case 523 of 104 tones, two sub-channels533 may be allocated, and only a single bit is used. For the case 524 of242/208 tones, there is only a single sub-channel, and therefore thesub-channel location 530 may not be required.

The formation of the resource allocation message may employ varioustechniques in addition to others described, and some non-limitingexamples of such will be given below. Some embodiments may include none,some, or all of the example techniques given below, and may also includeother techniques described herein.

As an example, the extra portion indicator may be ignored or excludedwhen a distributed allocation is indicated by the resource distributionindicator. Referring back to the example HEW SIG-B signaling message 400in FIG. 4, the extra 26 tones allocation 410 may be ignored or excludedwhen the allocation type 405 indicates a distributed resource allocation(e.g. when its two bits take the value of “01”). In addition, for otherallocation types, the extra 26 tones allocation 410 may be included.

As another example, for the 20 MHz channel with 242 total sub-carriersavailable, when the HEW AP 102 allocates all 242 sub-carriers to asingle HEW station 104, the extra 26 tones allocation 410 may be alwaysset to the value of 0.

As another example, referring to the message 400 in FIG. 4, when theallocation type 405 takes the value of 01 for distributed allocation,values for the sub-channel index (such as 428, 438, 448, etc.) mayindicate a spacing between sub-carriers of a sub-channel. It should berecalled that the channel may include sub-carriers spaced apart by asub-carrier spacing, which will be denoted as F_sc., and eachsub-channel may include a subset of those sub-carriers. Values of 00,01, 10, and 11 for the sub-channel index may indicate that thesub-carriers of a sub-channel are spaced apart by 9*F_sc, 5*F_sc,2*F_sc, and F_sc, respectively. This mapping is a non-limiting example,and other spacings may be mapped to the sub-channel index values.

As another example, referring to the message 400 in FIG. 4, thesub-channel location (such as 429, 439, 449, etc.) may indicate alocation of a sub-channel within the channel bandwidth when theallocation type 405 is set to 01 or 10. When the allocation type 405 isset to 00 or 11 and the sub-channel index 428, 438, 448 takes values of00, 01, or 10, the value of sub-channel location 429, 439, 449 mayinclude the final sub-carrier allocated to the HEW station 104.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of another method of channel resourceallocation signaling in accordance with some embodiments. As mentionedpreviously regarding the method 300, embodiments of the method 600 mayinclude additional or even fewer operations or processes in comparisonto what is illustrated in FIG. 6 and embodiments of the method 600 arenot necessarily limited to the chronological order that is shown in FIG.6. In describing the method 600, reference may be made to FIGS. 1-5,although it is understood that the method 600 may be practiced with anyother suitable systems, interfaces and components. In addition,embodiments of the method 600 may refer to eNBs 104, UEs 102, APs, STAsor other wireless or mobile devices.

It should be noted that the method 600 may be practiced at an HEWstation 104, and may include exchanging of signals or messages with anHEW AP 102. Similarly, the method 300 may be practiced at the HEW AP102, and may include exchanging of signals or messages with the HEWstation 104. In some cases, operations and techniques described as partof the method 300 may be relevant to the method 600. For instance, anoperation of the method 300 may include transmission of a block by theAP 102 while an operation of the method 600 may include reception of thesame block or similar block by the HEW station 104.

In addition, previous discussion of various techniques and concepts maybe applicable to the method 600 in some cases, including the format andcontents of the resource allocation message as previously described.Other concepts previously described, such as the channel resources,sub-channels, extra portions, sub-carriers, uplink data transmissionsand signals, and uplink bandwidth request messages, may also beapplicable to the method 600. In addition, the example message formatshown in FIG. 4 may also be used, in some cases.

At operation 605, the HEW station 104 may receive a resource allocationmessage from an HEW AP 102 to indicate an allocation of channelresources for uplink data transmission to the HEW AP 102. The HEWstation 104 may determine one or more sub-channels allocated to the HEWstation 104 at operation 610. The determination may be based onknowledge of the format used by the HEW AP 102 for assembling theresource allocation message. At operation 615, the HEW station 104 maytransmit one or more uplink signals on the determined sub-channels. Theuplink signals may be transmitted for reception at the HEW AP 102, insome cases. In some embodiments, the uplink signals may include or maybe part of one or more OFDMA signals, though not limited as such.

An example of a high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) access point (AP) isdisclosed herein. The HEW AP may comprise hardware processing circuitryconfigured to transmit a resource allocation message to indicate anallocation of channel resources for uplink transmissions by one or moreHEW stations. The hardware processing circuitry may be furtherconfigured to receive one or more uplink transmissions from the HEWstations according to the allocation. The resource allocation messagemay include a resource distribution indicator to indicate whether theHEW stations are allocated contiguous portions of the channel resources.The channel resources may include one or more sub-channels and an extraportion of channel resources. The resource allocation message mayfurther include an extra portion indicator to indicate whether the extraportion of channel resources is allocated to one of the HEW stations.

In some examples, the sub-channels may comprise a predeterminedbandwidth and further comprise multiple sub-carriers. In some examples,the resource allocation message may further include one or moresub-channel allocation blocks to indicate frequency location informationfor one or more allocated sub-channels included in the channelresources. In some examples, an allocation of at least a portion of thechannel resources to one of the HEW stations may be indicated by anidentifier of the HEW station and a sequence of one or more sub-channelallocation blocks. Each sub-channel allocation block in the sequence mayinclude an indicator of whether the sub-channel allocation block is afinal block in the sequence.

In some examples, the channel resources may include one or more channelsthat include multiple sub-channels. The sub-channel allocation blocksmay include a channel indicator for an allocated sub-channel and anindicator of a sub-channel bandwidth for sub-channels in the indicatedchannel. The sub-channel allocation blocks may further include asub-channel location indicator for a frequency location of the allocatedsub-channel within the indicated channel. A length of the sub-channellocation indicator may depend on the indicated sub-channel bandwidth. Insome examples, a length of the channel indicator may depend on a numberof channels included in the channel resources.

In some examples, the number of channels may be selected from one, two,four or eight, and each channel comprises a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In someexamples, at least one of the HEW stations may be allocated a firstsub-channel in a first channel and a second sub-channel in a secondchannel. In some examples, the transmission of the resource allocationmessage and the reception of the uplink transmissions may be performedin the channel resources.

In some examples, when the resource distribution indicator indicatesthat the HEW stations are allocated non-contiguous portions of thechannel resources, at least one of the HEW stations may be allocated afirst sub-channel and a second sub-channel and may not be allocated athird sub-channel that is located in frequency between the first andsecond sub-channels. In some examples, when the resource distributionindicator indicates that the HEW stations are allocated distributedportions of the channel resources, the sub-channels may include multiplesub-carriers interleaved in frequency.

In some examples, a bandwidth for the sub-channels may be selected froma group of candidate bandwidths that includes 2.03125, 4.0625, 8.125 and16.25 MHz and a bandwidth of the extra portion of channel resources maybe non-variable. In some examples, the uplink data transmissions mayinclude one or more orthogonal frequency division multiple-access(OFDMA) signals. In some examples, the resource allocation message maybe included in an HEW SIG-B signaling message. In some examples, the HEWAP may further comprise one or more antennas configured to transmit theresource allocation message and to receive the uplink datatransmissions.

A method for communication performed by a high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW)access point (AP) is also disclosed herein. The method may compriseallocating at least a portion of channel resources to one or more HEWstations for use in uplink transmissions. The channel resources mayinclude one or more channels that include one or more sub-channels. Themethod may further comprise transmitting a resource allocation messagethat includes sub-channel allocation blocks for a group of two or moresub-channels allocated to a first HEW station. The group of sub-channelsallocated to the first HEW station may include a first sub-channelincluded in a first channel and excludes sub-channels adjacent to thefirst sub-channel. A length of the sub-channel allocation blocks maydepend at least partly on a number of channels used.

In some examples, the group of sub-channels allocated to the first HEWstation further may include a second sub-channel included in a secondchannel. In some examples, the resource allocation message may furtherinclude one or more sub-channel allocation blocks for allocation of oneor more sub-channels to a second HEW station. In some examples, at leastone of the channels may include an integer number of sub-channels andmay further include an extra portion of channel resources. The resourceallocation message may further include an extra portion indicator toindicate whether the extra portion is allocated to one of the HEWstations.

In some examples, the resource allocation message may further include aresource distribution indicator to indicate contiguous or non-contiguousallocation of the sub-channels. In some examples, the sub-channelallocation blocks may be included as part of a sequence in the resourceallocation message. Each sub-channel allocation block may include anindicator of whether the sub-channel allocation block is the final blockin the sequence. In some examples, the method may further comprisereceiving, from the first HEW station, an uplink data transmission thatincludes one or more orthogonal frequency division multiple-access(OFDMA) signals. In some examples, the resource allocation message maybe included in an HEW SIG-B signaling message. The number of channelsmay be selected from one, two, four or eight, and each channel comprisesa bandwidth of 20 MHz.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of ahigh-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) access point (AP) to perform operations forcommunication is also disclosed herein. The operations may configure theone or more processors to transmit a resource allocation message toindicate an allocation of channel resources for uplink transmissions byone or more HEW stations. The operations may further configure the oneor more processors to receive one or more uplink transmissions from theHEW stations according to the allocation. The resource allocationmessage may include a resource distribution indicator to indicatewhether the HEW stations are allocated contiguous portions of thechannel resources. The channel resources may include one or moresub-channels and an extra portion of frequency resources. The resourceallocation message may further include an extra portion indicator toindicate whether the extra portion of frequency resources is allocatedto one of the HEW stations.

In some examples, the resource allocation message may further includeone or more sub-channel allocation blocks to indicate frequency locationinformation for one or more allocated sub-channels included in thechannel resources. The channel resources may include one or morechannels that include multiple sub-channels. The sub-channel allocationblocks may include a channel indicator for an allocated sub-channel andan indicator of a frequency span for sub-channels in the indicatedchannel. The sub-channel allocation blocks may further include asub-channel location indicator for a frequency location of the allocatedsub-channel within the indicated channel. A length of the sub-channellocation indicator may depend on the frequency span.

An example of a high-efficiency Wi-Fi (HEW) station is also disclosedherein. The HEW station may comprise hardware processing circuitryconfigured to receive, from an HEW access point (AP), a resourceallocation message to indicate an allocation of channel resources fortransmission of uplink signals by the HEW station and one or more otherHEW stations. The hardware processing circuitry may be furtherconfigured to transmit one or more uplink signals according to theallocation. The resource allocation message may include a resourcedistribution indicator to indicate a contiguous allocation of thechannel resources. The channel resources may include one or moresub-channels and an extra portion of channel resources. The sub-channelsmay comprise a predetermined bandwidth and further comprise multiplesub-carriers. The resource allocation message may further include anextra portion indicator to indicate whether the extra portion of channelresources is allocated.

In some examples, the HEW station may be allocated a group ofsub-channels included in the channel resources. The resource allocationmessage may include an identifier of the HEW station and a sequence ofone or more sub-channel allocation blocks. Each sub-channel allocationblock may indicate frequency location information for one of thesub-channels allocated to the HEW station. Each sub-channel allocationblock in the sequence may include an indicator of whether thesub-channel allocation block is a final block in the sequence.

In some examples, the channel resources may include one or more channelsthat include multiple sub-channels. The sub-channel allocation blocksmay include a channel indicator for an allocated sub-channel and anindicator of a sub-channel bandwidth for sub-channels in the indicatedchannel. The sub-channel allocation blocks may further include asub-channel location indicator for a frequency location of the allocatedsub-channel within the indicated channel. A length of the sub-channellocation indicator may depend on the indicated sub-channel bandwidth.

In some examples, a bandwidth for the sub-channels may be selected froma group of candidate bandwidths that includes 2.03125, 4.0625, 8.125 and16.25 MHz and a bandwidth of the extra portion of channel resources maybe non-variable. In some examples, the HEW station may further compriseone or more antennas configured to receive the resource allocationmessage and to transmit the uplink signals.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b)requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to ascertain the natureand gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to limit or interpret the scopeor meaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporatedinto the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) accesspoint (AP) comprising: memory; and, processing circuitry coupled to thememory, the processing circuitry configured to: encode a HE packet toallocate resources for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission tothe HE AP from a plurality of stations, the HE packet comprising anindication of a bandwidth of a channel, the HE packet further comprisingan UL resource allocation for each of the stations, each UL resourceallocation comprising a station identification of a station of the ofthe plurality of stations and an indication of a number of tones of aresource unit (RU) for the station and a location of the RU within thechannel, wherein the indication of the bandwidth of the channel isconfigurable to indicate bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 MHz+80MHz, and 160 MHz, and wherein each UL resource allocation furthercomprises an indication whether the location of the RU within thechannel applies to an upper 80 MHz or a lower 80 MHz if the indicationof the bandwidth of the channel indicates 80 MHz+80 MHz or 160 MHz;configure the access point to transmit the HE packet to the plurality ofstations; decode uplink HE packets from the stations in accordance withthe UL resource allocations; encode the HE packet to further comprisedownlink (DL) resource allocations in a HE signal B (HE-SIG-B) field forthe plurality stations; and encode the HE packet to further comprise DLdata in accordance with the DL resource allocations, and wherein the HEpacket comprises a field to indicate whether the DL resource allocationscomprise a center RU, the center RU comprising a zero frequency tone,wherein the center RU is 26 tones.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, whereina tone spacing for tones of the RU is 78.125 kHz.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the number of tones of the RU for the station is 26tones, 52 tones, or 242 tones.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theuplink HE packets are received in a same transmission opportunity as theHE packet is transmitted in.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ULresource allocations further comprise a resource distribution indicatorto indicate whether the UL resource allocations are continuous portionsof the channel resources.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the oneor more UL resource allocations comprises at least two UL resourceallocations.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the number of tones ofthe RU varies between 26 tones and a number of tones of a bandwidth ofthe channel.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the UL resourceallocations comprise at most one RU for each station of the theplurality of stations.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the accesspoint and the one or more stations are each one from the followinggroup: an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)802.11ax access point, an IEEE 802.11ax station, an IEEE 802.11 station,and an IEEE 802.11 access point.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe processing is further configured to: decode uplink HE packets fromthe plurality HE stations in accordance with the one or more UL resourceallocations in accordance with one or both of orthogonal frequencydivision multiple-access (OFDMA) and multi-user multiple-inputmultiple-output (MU-MIMO).
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising transceiver circuitry coupled to the memory.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, further comprising transceiver circuitry coupledto the processing circuitry; and, one or more antennas coupled to thetransceiver circuitry.
 13. A method performed by an access point, themethod comprising: encoding a HE packet to allocate resources for anuplink (UL) multi-user (MU) transmission to the HE AP from a pluralityof stations, the HE packet comprising an indication of a bandwidth of achannel, the HE packet further comprising an UL resource allocation foreach of the stations, each UL resource allocation comprising a stationidentification of a station of the of the plurality of stations and anindication of a number of tones of a resource unit (RU) for the stationand a location of the RU within the channel, wherein the indication ofthe bandwidth of the channel is configurable to indicate bandwidths of20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 MHz+80 MHz, and 160 MHz, and wherein each ULresource allocation further comprises an indication whether the locationof the RU within the channel applies to an upper 80 MHz or a lower 80MHz if the indication of the bandwidth of the channel indicates 80MHz+80 MHz or 160 MHz; configuring the access point to transmit the HEpacket to the plurality of stations; decoding uplink HE packets from thestations in accordance with the UL resource allocations; encoding the HEpacket to further comprise downlink (DL) resource allocations in a HEsignal B (HE-SIG-B) field for the plurality stations; and encoding theHE packet to further comprise DL data in accordance with the DL resourceallocations, and wherein the HE packet comprises a field to indicatewhether the DL resource allocations comprise a center RU, the center RUcomprising a zero frequency tone, wherein the center RU is 26 tones. 14.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of an apparatus ofa high-efficiency (HE) access point (AP) to perform operations forcommunication, the operations to configure the one or more processorsto: encode a HE packet to allocate resources for an uplink (UL)multi-user (MU) transmission to the HE AP from a plurality of stations,the HE packet comprising an indication of a bandwidth of a channel, theHE packet further comprising an UL resource allocation for each of thestations, each UL resource allocation comprising a stationidentification of a station of the of the plurality of stations and anindication of a number of tones of a resource unit (RU) for the stationand a location of the RU within the channel, wherein the indication ofthe bandwidth of the channel is configurable to indicate bandwidths of20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 MHz+80 MHz, and 160 MHz, and wherein each ULresource allocation further comprises an indication whether the locationof the RU within the channel applies to an upper 80 MHz or a lower 80MHz if the indication of the bandwidth of the channel indicates 80MHz+80 MHz or 160 MHz; configure the access point to transmit the HEpacket to the plurality of stations; decode uplink HE packets from thestations in accordance with the UL resource allocations; encode the HEpacket to further comprise downlink (DL) resource allocations in a HEsignal B (HE-SIG-B) field for the plurality stations; and encode the HEpacket to further comprise DL data in accordance with the DL resourceallocations, and wherein the HE packet comprises a field to indicatewhether the DL resource allocations comprise a center RU, the center RUcomprising a zero frequency tone, wherein the center RU is 26 tones. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim14, wherein a tone spacing for tones of the RU is 78.125 kHz.
 16. Anapparatus of a high-efficiency (HE) station comprising: memory; and,processing circuitry coupled to the memory, the processing circuitryconfigured to: decode a HE packet for an uplink (UL) multi-user (MU)transmission to the HE AP from a plurality stations, the HE packetcomprising an indication of a bandwidth of a channel, the HE packetfurther comprising an UL resource allocation for the station, the ULresource allocation comprising a station identification of the stationand an indication of a number of tones of a resource unit (RU) for thestation and a location of the RU within the channel, wherein theindication of the bandwidth of the channel is configurable to indicatebandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 80 MHz+80 MHz, and 160 MHz, andwherein each UL resource allocation further comprises an indicationwhether the location of the RU within the channel applies to an upper 80MHz or a lower 80 MHz if the indication of the bandwidth of the channelindicates 80 MHz+80 MHz or 160 MHz; encode a data packet in accordancewith the resource allocation; configure the station to transmit the datapacket in accordance with the resource allocation; and decode a downlink(DL) resource allocation in a HE signal B (HE-SIG-B) field of the HEpacket, the DL resource allocation comprising the station identificationfor the station, and decode data of the HE packet in accordance with theresource allocation, and wherein the resource allocation comprises afield to indicate whether the DL resource allocation is a center RU, thecenter RU straddling a zero frequency tone, wherein the center RU is 26tones.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the number of tones of theRU varies between 26 tones and a number of tones of a bandwidth of thechannel.
 18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising transceivercircuitry coupled to the processing circuitry; and, one or more antennascoupled to the transceiver circuitry.